Ortsbo™ Builds Senior Management Team
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SOURCE Ortsbo
Leader in Real-Time Online Translation Technologies Gears Up for Pending Corporate Spin Out
TORONTO and LOS ANGELES, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ortsbo.com("Ortsbo") the leader in real-time experiential communications and a subsidiary of Intertainment Media Inc. (TSXV:INT / OTCQX: ITMTF / FRA: I4T) ("Intertainment Media"), today announced a number of important additions to its executive ranks as it prepares for operations as an independent company. The new hires, coming from some ofNorth America's most prominent technology and entertainment companies, fulfill many critical management roles in the company's technical, customer support, communications and business development areas, among others.
Leading the team is Patrick Bultema, who moves from interim-President to Ortsbo's President, will report to David Lucatch, CEO of Ortsbo and Chief Executive Officer of Intertainment Media. Bultema brings over 30 years of experience leading emerging high-tech companies as an executive, investor, board member and corporate advisor. Prior to joining Ortsbo, Bultema was CEO of Internet software company CodeBaby as well as a venture partner with vSpring Capital, CEO of XAware, and CEO of FrontRange Solutions.
A noted author and speaker, Bultema is recognized as one of the leading experts in online customer experience and customer management. He has held positions as founder and Executive Chairman of Knowlix; Chairman and General Manager for the Help Desk Institute (then a Ziff-Davis company); and was founding Executive Editor of Customer Support Management magazine. Patrick holds a Bachelor's degree from California State University and a Master's from Princeton.
Also strengthening Ortsbo's management ranks are three new operational, non-executive officers, all reporting toPatrick Bultema:
Bill Auvil, joining as Vice President of Customer Operations. Auvil has extensive experience in technical support, customer services, client relations, marketing and sales. He comes to Ortsbo from FrontRange Solutions where he was Vice President of Global Support Services, overseeing the daily operations and development of that company's global technical product support, customer care and maintenance renewals. He has also held senior management positions at Sykes Enterprises Inc. and IBM, and has served on CRM industry boards at Customer Support Management magazine and the Help Desk Institute.
Mance Harmon, who becomes Vice President of Technology and Products. Harmon has a track record in innovative R&D and strategy formation, with experience in cloud operations, Web applications, mobile apps and platforms, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Harmon has been the founder/CEO of two successful technology companies, BlueWave Security and Trio Security, and has held senior technology leadership positions as Symbol Technologies (Motorola) and the Missile Defense Agency. Harmon also served as an instructor of computer science at the U.S. Air Force Academy and as a research scientist in machine learning at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Mance holds a Master's Degree from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst).
Jacqueline Saltzer-Lamb, Vice President of Corporate Communications. Saltzer-Lamb has worked at a number of leading information technology and financial services companies and has an extensive background in strategic, corporate and executive communications. She joins Ortsbo from her post as Director of Global Product and Technology Communications at eBay. Prior posts include senior corporate communications positions at Charles Schwab, Oracle, PeopleSoft, FrontRange and Novell. Jacqueline holds a Bachelor's Degree from theUniversity of California at Santa Barbara.
Ortsbo has also hired four new managers at the senior director and director levels:
Leemon Baird, Senior Director of Research and Advanced Technology. Most recently Baird was co-founder and CTO of BlueWave Security, and Senior Researcher at the Academy Center for Cyberspace Research at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Previously he was co-founder and CTO at Trio Security, and Director of Security Engineering at Symbol Technologies (Motorola) and a professor of computer science at the US Air Force Academy. Leemon holds a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University.
Chris Peterson, Director of Digital Properties. Peterson, an Emmy-nominated digital producer and product developer, joins Ortsbo from MTV Networks where he held a variety of online production positions on the Nickelodeon Digital, The N Digital and Noggin teams. Prior to MTV, Petersen did project management, design and Web development for Lazard Asset Management and Net Technologies. Chris holds a Bachelor's Degree from Savannah College of Art and Design.
Matthew Grotenstein, Director of Language Services. A translation industry veteran, Grotenstein brings over 10 years of experience including a prior position as U.S. Business Development Director for CLS Communication, one of the world's largest language translation providers. He serves as chairman of Red T, a translation industry non-profit organization. Matthew holds a Bachelor's Degree from Fordham University in New York City.
Alex McCallum, Director of Business Development. McCallum has deep background in business development and joins Ortsbo from Research In Motion (RIM) where he was Director, Consumer Alliances, helping companies build effective go-to-market and business strategies for their businesses. Prior to RIM, McCallum worked for TD Bank Financial Group. Alex holds a Bachelor's and Masters Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.
"The global market for Ortsbo services is showing immense promise. It's critical that we put together the right people to sustain that momentum in the months and years ahead, and these executives will help us do just that," statedPatrick Bultema, Ortsbo President. "I'm looking forward to working closely alongside David Lucatch, our CEO, who will be an active part of our operations strategic leadership and development of the business."
"Ortsbo is in a very exciting and challenging phase as it invests in the resources it needs to hit the ground running as an independent entity," said David Lucatch, Ortsbo CEO. "We're thrilled that we have been successful at attracting such experienced and accomplished professionals to our management team. This is truly an all-star group of individuals-each has had notable success in the past and will be bringing that acumen and energy to the tasks ahead of them at Ortsbo."
As its corporate spin out continues, Ortsbo is expected to announce several additional executive hires later this Spring. It will be transitioning its corporate headquarters to Los Angeles, California in the next several months.
About Ortsbo.com
Now with over 100 million unique users in over 170 countries and territories, Ortsbo (www.ortsbo.com) enables real-time conversational translation for more than 50 languages. Ortsbo's flagship product for social media supports global communications with instant translation capability and real-time, multi-lingual social media chat. Ortsbo's technologies support major social platforms including MSN, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo!, as well as all major desktop and mobile operating systems, browsers and devices. Ortsbo, based in Toronto and with offices inLos Angeles and New York, is a subsidiary of Intertainment Media (www.intertainmentmedia.com).
On February 28, 2012, Intertainment Media announced that Intertainment and its Board of Directors have reviewed various options for the spin out of its subsidiary Ortsbo Inc., and have elected to proceed with a transaction structure that it believes will be the most favorable to the current security holders of Intertainment. For further information, please refer to Intertainment Media's announcement filed at www.sedar.com.
About Intertainment Media Inc.
Headquartered in both Los Angeles, CA and the Toronto, Canada area, with additional offices in New York and San Mateo, CA, Intertainment Media, Inc. (www.intertainmentmedia.com), ("Intertainment" or the "Company") (TSXV:INT / OTCQX: ITMTF / FRA: I4T), a Rich Media Applications leader, is focused on delivering leading edge technology and marketing solutions that enable clients to power enhanced branding, loyalty initiatives and consumer engagement. Intertainment Media is based in Toronto, Canada, and owns and operates a number of key properties including Ortsbo, Ad Taffy, itiBiti and Magnum.
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